, Columnist
Trump’s Christmas Miracle Is Cold Comfort for Retailers
The reprieve is nice, but it’s a stark reminder of the White House’s impulsiveness about trade.
A postponement resonates as more hollow than Ho-Ho-Ho.
Photographer: John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images
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It looks as if the Trump administration didn’t want to be accused of ruining Christmas.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said Tuesday that it would delay until Dec. 15 the imposition of tariffs on certain goods coming to the U.S. from China. The government said products such as cellphones, laptops, as well as some toys, clothes and shoes would be spared temporarily, though it plans to move ahead on Sept. 1 with a 10% levy on other items from a batch of $300 billion worth of goods.